Firearm container



June 27, 1950 s. w. FISH 2,512,622

FIREARM CONTAINER Filed May 6, 1948- 5 1111111 eyVVLFiah Patented June 27., 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFaFlCE 2,512,622 FIREARM oowramnn Stanley Fish, Springfield, Mass., assignor to the United States of America .as represented bythe Secretary o'f'War Application May .6, 1948, .SeriztlNo. $254M]. .5 Claims. (CLIZDB-e'ol (Granted murder the act n! March 3, .1883, at V Eamendcd April .30, 1928.; 13.70 16:. =16. 75.72)

This invention relates to "a sealed container "for storing firearms over a protracted "period at time.

The "invention described in the foregoing speciffication, ii patented, may' be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment :to' me of .anytroyalty thereon.

The storage of firearms, particularly smilitary firearm's for-any longprotracted period has there- -tofore been a serious problem for the reason that :no definite assurance could be had that ".the firearms would stay in first-cl'assycondition during this period without considerable attention. The main contributing factor caus inglconcerninthe storage of firearms is corrosion .duefto excessive moisture inthe "air. As firearms :are lfabricated largely of steel, such-metal is -of :course t-subject "'to deterioration due to the corrosive elements of the atmosphere unless properly protected.

In the past the procedure has been to heavily coa't the firearms with :grease 'a'nd -then enclose among thembeingtherdifiicu'lty in cleaning't-he "firearm upon removal from the "wooden 'oontainer. The "heavy :coating of grease had "to be-rezmoved by the use-of :a'suita'ble'solventwliich in- "volved complete disassembl'yof'theifirearm. 10bv'ious'ly this necessita'ted a great deal 'of'valuahle ti-me-consum'ing labor. Kit "is apparent therefore tha t such firearm could not be usedimmediately upon'withdrawal from the container linitime of emergency. In'addition, the-"heavy coating of grease did not insure full protection against the corrosive elements of theatmosphere because "such coating may=-not havebeenproperly applied. Furthermore, the wooden container holding the firearm was not "of 'suffio'ient 's'trengtlrto positively insure that such container would"=not"be broken if dropped and still further, the wooden container'would not 'excludemoisture.

Accordingly .it is an object of this invention to provide a sealed container for storing firearms for a long periodof-years 'under anyclimatic condi- .tion.

Another object of this invention-is to proride'ra container for firearms which will withstand extremely rough hand-ling "without "damage to the firearms contained therein.

"The-"specificnature of iinvention aswell as other objects and advantages thereofqwill clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodi- ?2 went as shown in the accompanying drawings i-n which:

Fig. "1 is 'a side ViBW -of the firearm container shown partly broken away to illustrate the'man *ner offmounting the firearms therein.

' Fig.2 "is a side view of the firearm"holder.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the "line, '3'-"3 'show'ing the spider utilized to separate the firearms. Y

Fig. 4 is a side'v'iew taken along the line L- l showing one of the end-plates provided with the various indentations thereon for receiving the end parts of the firearms.

'-In'-Fig. 1 there is-shown in assembled relation a firearmcontalnerconstructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention. Suchcontainer comprises essentially a -drum t0, a firearmh0ld'ei' l l contained within drum lll' and disks t2 and 1'3for closingrand sealing each end of drum I- U.

H'I is of conventional construction and is preferablyiabricated of sheet steel for optimum strength. Toincrease the rigidity -'of such drum a plurality-oi. annular stiffening ribs l4 arepro vided about the periphery thereof. "l he bottom -of drum to is closed by inserting seal ing disk W2 *thereinendseam welding disk I 2 to drum l-O 13S shoWnat 'I-S. i-Firearm holder 'll com-prises atube IS, a pair of spaced "spiders H and t8 welded'= te tube 16 and end plates Hand 20 welded-to opposite-ends *oftube 1'6. Spiders l"! 1 and "I 8 are formed of pressed steel and-are "provided with a plurality of substantially 'U -shaped firearm receivingopenings "Hand 22 near *the outer "periphery of such spiders. Openings-2 l in spiders l1 and I8:receive a portionof the butt stock of 'a'firearm '23'tobe stored in the container while openin s '22 receive a portion of the torward end of firearm "23. Openings 2! and 22 are preferably evenly :spaced about spiders "If! and "I8.

End plates 1'5 and '20 are disk-like -members each are provided withla plurality of circular "indentations or :soc'kets 2.4 radially disposed and evenly spaced "to receive, the "muzzle end of firearms 23. A plurality of j'knob like projections arealso provided on .end plates Stand 20 disposed 'as shown in Fig. '4 for a *purpose to the presently described. .End .plates f9 and 20*are spaced apart at the end of tube 1 6 at a .distancato just permit assembly of a firearm into spiders :l! and 118 so that while the muzzle endis restingin socket 2d, :the butt end will beresting onithe opposite plate 'withth-e butt .ontqp of"knob'35. "Withthe firearms .so stacked; the .center off thrust on .thehutt *ofthe 'firearmis then on a directline'with the axis of the firearm thereby substantially eliminating any breakage of stocks. The firearms 23 are placed in firearm holder H in such fashion that the adjacent firearms will have their ends reversed as shown in Fig. 1. By so stacking the firearms it is obvious that a greater number can be accommodated by drum ID. A pad 25 of nonorganic material separates the muzzle from the.

bottom of socket 24 to prevent any damage there to and to provide a more resilient mounting of the firearm. Pad 25 is preferably made of, fibre glass matted with silicone.

When firearms 23 are placed a steel band is placed in surrounding relationship with the firearms at a point opposite the pistol grip of the firearm as shown at 26. A pad of non-organic material 21 is placed under each band 26 in order to protect the firearms iromdamage 7 I claim:

1. A waterproof container for firearms comprising a tube, a disk member adapted to be insorted in each end of said tube and sealed in 'fplace, a holder in said container comprising a support member having a pair of spaced spiders caused by tightening such band." Akee'per 28 ofi well known constructionfis utilized to secure band 26 tightly about the firearms 23. Thus when bands 26 are tightened about the firearms, such firearms are tightly secured within openings 2| and 220i spiders Hand [8.

The firearm holder I l is then inserted in -drum H]. To prevent axial displacement of such holder a circular rib 29 is provided on the inside of each of the sealing disks l2 and 13. An outwardly extending peripheral flange 30 provided on each end plate l9 and engages the rib 29 thereby preventing axial displacement of holder l I; i

The stocks of each firearm 23 are initially subjected to a heating process to reduce the moisture content thereof to not over 5% by weight before placing in drum ID. Each firearm. 23 is then lightly oiled so that each firearm may be put into action immediately upon Withdrawal from the container. In order to control the moisture content contained in the air inside of drum 5 0; when disk I3 is finally sealed in place, a quantity of silica gel is enclosed along with holder II. The

amount of silica gelenclosed is adjusted to keep the moisture in air contained in drum ID within a relative humidity of not over 'The drum is then ready for sealing. Sealing disk l3 isthen seam welded at 3| to exclude the elements from the interior of drum Ill.

The exterior-of drum I0 is then protected by galvanizing and painting or by providing some other rust-resistant coating thereon and then painting over such coating. No treatment of the inside of drum I0 is necessary because of the controlled atmosphere therein which substantially eliminates corrosion.

From the foregoing description it is clearly apparent that there is here provided a container for firearms; which seals the firearms against the is that such container may be conveniently secured thereto. said spiders being adapted to receive a; plurality of firearms, a flanged end member secured at each end of said supporting member for longitudinal support of the firearms,

and means on each of said disk members engageable by said flanged end members for securing said holder against "axial displacement.

2. A firearm storage-container comprising a tube, a flanged end member'adapted to be inserted in each end of said tube and sealed in place, a holder adapted for insertion in said tube consisting of a central post having a pair of spaced spiders fixed thereon, said spiders having peripheral openings adapted to receive a plurality of firearms, means for securing the firearms to said spiders, a flanged disk secured to each end of said post, said disks having muzzle receiving sockets therein-whereby said-firearms are held out of contact with said tube, and means on each of said disk members engageable by said flanged end members for securing said holder against axial displacement.

3. The combination defined. in claim 2 wherein said last mentioned means comprises a circular rib on said flanged end member.

4. A firearm storage container comprising a tube, a flanged end member adapted to be inserted in each end of said tube and sealed in place, a holder adapted for insertion in said tube consisting of a central post having a pair of spaced spidersfixed thereon, said spiders having peripheral openings adapted to receive a plurality of firearms, means for securing the firearms to said spiders, a pair of flanged disks, each of said disks having a plurality of muzzle receiving sockets radially disposed in the form of an inner ring and a plurality of butt stops radially disposed in the form of an outer ring in staggering relation with said muzzle receiving sockets, said disks being secured to each end of said post whereby each of saidmuzzle receiving sockets of one of said disks lie in the same plane as said butt stops of the other of said disks to receive a firearm therebetween with each adjacent firearm end being reversed to facilitate storing, and means on each of said disks engageable by said flanged end members for securing said holder against axial displacement.

5. The. combination defined in claim 4 wherein said last mentioned means comprises a circular .rib on said flanged end members.

v STANLEY w. FISH. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent? FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Dat Great Britain Sept. 25, 1890 

